You’ve created your account and you’re working hard to get your store ready for launch. Yet until you learn how to create a Coming Soon page in Shopify, you’re missing out on an important opportunity to start building your customer base long before you open your shop doors to the world.
Done right, a well-designed Coming Soon page can prove to be an invaluable tool for generating a buzz about your products and building your email list right from the word go.
Today, we’ll show you just how easy it is to create a compelling pre-launch page with an email opt-in form and other useful marketing features, as well as offering our picks of the very best Shopify apps to help you truly captivate your potential customers before you so much as sell a single product.
How to Create a Coming Soon Page in Shopify
For the purposes of this guide, we're going to assume that you're already somewhat familiar with Shopify, at least to the point that you've already created an account and are in the process of starting your first store.
If not, you might want to first check out our step-by-step guide on how to open a Shopify store in 20 minutes then come back and join us when you're ready?
All set to go?
In that case, let's dive into it and take a look at the two quick and easy methods for creating your Shopify coming soon page.
Creating a Coming Soon Page Using Your Shopify Password Page
If you haven't yet launched your eCommerce store on Shopify, then the easiest way to set up your coming soon page is to use what's already there.
Until you actually make your website live, anyone who tries to visit it will be taken to the Shopify password page, a basic, no-frills set up which already contains all of the key elements to a good coming soon page.
As well as the name of your store and a basic "coming soon" message, it also contains marketing features such as an email opt-in box and social media sharing options.
1. Reactivating Your Password Page
If you've already published your shop and don't currently have the password page activated, you can always reactivate it again.
From your dashboard menu, go to the 'Sales Channels' menu and click 'Online store.'
Click 'Preferences.' Then, on the preferences page, scroll down to 'Password Protection' and click 'Enable.'
2. Customising Your Password Page
So far, so simple, though let’s be honest: That password page looks a little bland, doesn’t it?
It’s hardly a reflection of the unique style you want your brand to be known for, so let’s change things up a little.
The quickest way to do that is by selecting ‘Themes’ from the Sales Channel menu, then clicking on 'Customize' to bring up the main theme editor.
By default, the editor brings up your home page, so you’ll need to select ‘Password page.’ from the drop-down menu at the top.
You can then use the left-hand menu to do everything from changing the content of your page to modifying the colors and typography, swapping out your social buttons or otherwise editing the page as you see fit.
3. Using a Shopify Coming Soon App to Modify Your Page
If the basic editor doesn’t give you what you need to get your Coming soon page looking exactly as you’d like it, you can always edit using an app (which you can find further below.)
Creating a Pre-Launch Version of Your Store
As an alternative to using your password page, you could also create a Coming Soon page by saving two different versions of your store's theme.
Behind the scenes, you'll have a work-in-progress version that you continue to develop in the run-up to your official launch date. In the meantime, anyone who happens to type your URL into their browser will find themselves greeted by a pre-launch "coming soon" version of the same store, with a dedicated pre-launch homepage designed to generate interest and boost conversions.
Here's how that works:
1. Duplicate Your Theme
Simply use the 'Actions' dropdown menu and select 'Duplicate.'
2. Rename Your Theme
To avoid getting mixed up between your live store and your work-in-progress version, you'll benefit from renaming both versions.
Again, go to the Actions menu, then click Rename.
To keep things simple, you might decide to have one version called "Store (Coming Soon)" and "Store (Work-in-Progress)
3. Edit the Homepage On Your Coming Soon Store
Make sure it's the Coming Soon version of your store that you publish as the live version, using the alternative version to keep adding products and content ready for your full launch.
To edit the homepage, you can again use the basic Shopify page editor to add everything from explainer videos and newsletter sign-ups to compelling copy and more.
Alternatively, you can access even more features by using one of these three leading apps.
3 Best Shopify Coming Soon Page Apps
| Item | Pre-Launcher / Coming Soon | Fancy Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
|---|---|---|---|
Price (monthly) | $2.99 | $2.99 | $14.99 |
Free trial period | 7 days | 2 days | 3 days |
| Best feature | Ease of use | Easy integration with other tools | Free professional setup |
Biggest weakness | Limited data capture features | Limited free trial | Expensive |
Avg Shopify rating | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
Pre-Launcher / Coming Soon by OnltrApp
Price: $2.99 per month
Free Trial: 7 days
Average Shopify Rating: 4.8/5
Browsing through the countless 4 and 5 star reviews for OnltrApp’s popular Pre-Launcher / Coming soon app, you’ll find countless Shopify store owners praising it for its simplicity and ease-of-use.
Trying it out ourselves, we have to say we agree with those reviews. A breeze to install and featuring a highly intuitive interface, Pre-Launcher / Coming Soon makes creating a professional coming soon page practically effortless.
Yet just because it’s simple doesn’t mean the app doesn’t have a lot to offer. We love the fantastic level of customization on everything from your page headings and copy to your countdown timer and more.
At $2.99 per month, the app is very competitively priced, though if you’re still not convinced, you can access the full range of features in a seven-day free trial and give it a spin yourself.
Key Features:
- Subscription forms for capturing emails
- Customizable countdown timer
- Library of premium quality background images
- Custom CSS for enhanced customization
- Excellent customization options for fonts, logos, text, and more.
Why we like it:
- Incredibly easy to install
- Excellent customer support
- Background image library helps create a professional look for your store.
- Customization options are among the best we’ve seen
What it could do better:
- Email capture form has no option to add additional fields for capturing customer names etc.
Check out Pre-Launcher here.
Fancy Coming Soon by AcquireConvert
Price: $2.99 per month
Free Trial: 2 days
Average Shopify Rating: 4.8/5
At first glance, Fancy Coming Soon seems like any other coming soon app out there. Yes, it's mobile responsive to ensure your page looks great and functions flawlessly. Yes, it offers a rich text editor and plenty of customization options, and yes, it contains standard features like email opt-in forms and countdown timers, but then so too do many other apps of this type.
So why choose this particular app over any other?
Because, once you really dive into it, you'll find that Fancy Coming Soon takes all those standard features to a whole new level.
Sure, most coming soon apps have a countdown timer so that you can inform your customers of the exact moment that your store will launch, but Fancy Coming Soon is one of the few apps that offers a countdown timer with support for multiple time zones so that you can offer customers an accurate countdown no matter where they are in the world.
It's also one of the few that expands on the standard email opt-in form by allowing integration with popular email marketing services like Mailchimp, and one of the only tools that connects with your Google Analytics reports to provide SEO data.
Elsewhere, the app does everything you'd expect it to do, offering beautiful, easy-to-edit themes, a rich variety of fonts and templates, and everything you'd need to create a stunning coming soon page.
Key Features:
- Background animations
- Chat buttons and integration with popular messaging apps
- Stylish countdown timers
- Google Analytics integration
- Mailchimp and Klaviyo integration
- Built-in image editor
Why we like it:
- The live chat features help improve pre-launch customer service and engagement
- Integration with platforms like Mailchimp for improved email marketing
- Built-in image editor saves time in the design process
- SEO data features prove helpful in making important decisions about the launch.
What it could do better:
- The animated backgrounds look a little dated and distracting
- The two-day trial is quite limited compared to other apps.
Check out Fancy Coming Soon here.
Coming Soon by Staff Enterprises
Price: $14.99 per month
Free Trial: 3 days
Average Shopify Rating: 4.8/5
App developers Staff Enterprises take pride in their reputation as the creators of the first-ever coming soon app available for Shopify.
Since they first launched it, their app has been the preferred tool of choice for major brands like Dickies, Four Seasons, and 24Hundred, a client list which speaks volumes about the quality of both the product itself and the kind of attractive, effective landing pages you can create with it.
Unfortunately, that quality comes at a cost.
At $14.99 per month, Coming Soon is by far and away one of the most expensive apps of its type, but that doesn't mean it should be counted out altogether.
At no extra cost, the developers will not only set up your app for you but also build your entire page without you lifting a finger. So, though it may cost more, it may be worth the money for anyone who simply lacks the time to build their own page as well as those who lack confidence in their own design skills.
Elsewhere, we really like the password login and whitelist pages features. These allow certain users to bypass your coming soon page and access your store. Though you may want to keep this feature turned off if you don't have much to offer while you're still working on your site, this can be a great way to generate some pre-launch interest and begin building that all-important brand loyalty.
Key Features:
- Fully customize every element with no need to deal with CSS
- Mailchimp integration
- Social sharing buttons
- Google Fonts integration
- Features to allow customers to bypass the coming soon page
Why we like it:
- Free professional set-up and customization saves time on creating a top-quality coming soon page
- Password log-ins allow you to offer exclusive pre-launch access which is great for building a buzz about your store
- The app is constantly being updated with new features
- Integration with video platforms like YouTube, great for displaying explainer videos.
What it could do better:
- Much more expensive than other options
- 3-Day trial is quite limited
Check out Coming Soon here.
Final Thought: Which is the Best Shopify Coming Soon App
Search for coming soon apps on the Shopify app store and you’ll be inundated with options. However, the three we’ve included in today’s guide are the ones we truly believe are the very.
We’re not alone, either.
Each app currently stands at a rating of 4.8 stars out of five, meaning that genuine Shopify users have consistently rated these as their favorite tools for creating great-looking coming soon pages.
The only question then, of course, is which one of the three should you use?
If you need a coming soon page but don’t want to do the hard work yourself, opting for the $14.99 Coming Soon app by Staff Enterprises is a great way to go as they’ll set everything up for you.
However, if you prefer to save money but still have an easy time on things, OnltrApp’s Pre-Launcher tool definitely wins hands down in the user-friendliness category.
Meanwhile, for advanced features and integration with lots of other tools, look no further than Fancy Coming Soon, our pick of the best app for creating a page that not only looks the best but which will significantly improve your pre-launch marketing efforts.
